1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a lane departure prevention system configured to prevent a vehicle from departing from a lane in which the host vehicle is traveling when the host vehicle exhibits behavior (i.e., a tendency) indicating that the host vehicle will likely depart from the lane. More specifically, the present invention relates to a lane departure prevention system that informs the driver that lane departure prevention control is being executed.
2. Background Information
Several lane departure prevention systems have been proposed for imparting a yaw moment to a host vehicle for avoiding the host vehicle from deviating from the driving lane. One example of a lane departure prevention system is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-112540. In this publication, a lane departure prevention control applies a yaw moment to a vehicle by imposing a braking force differential on the left and right wheels of the host vehicle when there is a possibility that the host vehicle will depart from a lane in which the host vehicle is traveling. Additionally, through the host vehicle behavior, the control notifies the driver of the possibility that the host vehicle will depart from the lane. The yaw moment applied to the host vehicle is set to a value corresponding to the yaw angle of the host vehicle with respect to the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved lane departure prevention system. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.